Pluribus AI 2026 Election

2026 Midterms · U.S. House · California Safe

California — 12th District

Portrait of Lateefah Simon

Democratic

Lateefah Simon

Incumbent

No Republican nominee

In California's 12th Congressional District, incumbent Democrat Lateefah Simon faces Democratic challenger Jamie Joyce in a top-two general election. Following district boundary adjustments under California Proposition 50 in 2025, major forecasters rate the seat Solid Democratic or Safe Democratic. The election hinges on competing progressive approaches to legislative strategy, government oversight, artificial intelligence regulation, public safety, mass transit, and housing affordability.

01

Artificial intelligence, government surveillance, and oversight

high salience

Joyce advocates passing her pre-drafted 650-page MAD Act to set hard guardrails on AI and executive surveillance, whereas Simon emphasizes judicial ethics, campaign finance disclosures, and stock trading bans.

Lateefah Simon

Supports government transparency and judicial reforms

Simon focuses her oversight agenda on reducing dark money in politics, banning stock trading for members of Congress and federal judges, and reforming the judiciary. She supports Supreme Court term limits, expanding the number of justices, and enforcing an ethics code, and she voted to release investigative materials related to Jeffrey Epstein.

  • Supports banning stock trading and ownership for members of Congress and federal judges
  • Advocates expanding the Supreme Court, imposing judicial term limits, and enforcing a strict code of conduct
  • Voted YEA on the Epstein Files Transparency Act (H.R. 4405) to publish unclassified investigative materials

“As a member of Congress, I will aim to reduce the influence of big money interest in politics by eliminating secret corporate spending in elections, promoting transparency and accountability in government, and supporting a ban on stock trading and ownership for members of Congress and the Federal Judiciary.”

No Republican nominee
02

Public safety and criminal justice reform

high salience

Simon promotes community-based non-police interventions and nationalizing BART's ambassador program, while Joyce offers no detailed standalone public safety platform in the provided sources.

Lateefah Simon

Supports community safety and police reform

Simon emphasizes a community-first approach to public safety grounded in her 30 years of advocacy. She pioneered non-police BART safety ambassadors and anti-recidivism programs, and in Congress she introduced legislation to nationalize the transit ambassador model.

  • Introduced legislation to nationalize BART's unarmed, de-escalation-trained transit ambassador program
  • Created the Back on Track anti-recidivism program for young adult offenders in the San Francisco District Attorney's office
  • Supports comprehensive policing reform, closing federal gun law loopholes, and funding addiction and mental health services
  • Voted NAY on the Laken Riley Act and DUI deportation legislation

“For over 30 years, I have been an advocate for public safety. I started the nationally recognized Back-on-Track program in then-DA Harris’ office to prevent recidivism.”

“In Congress, I will support comprehensive policing reform to ensure that policing reflects community values and upholds civil rights and reinvests resources in communities.”

No Republican nominee
03

Housing affordability and homelessness

high salience

Simon advocates for federal renter tax credits and tenant protections, whereas Joyce outlines no explicit housing platform in the sources.

Lateefah Simon

Supports rent relief and public housing

Simon views housing as a fundamental human right and supports tenant protections, tenant unions, and public housing investments. She champions federal Rent Relief legislation to create refundable tax credits for cost-burdened renters.

  • Supports federal Rent Relief legislation providing refundable tax credits to renters paying more than 30% of income on rent
  • Advocates for tenant protections, lifting up tenant unions, and revitalizing public housing infrastructure
  • Supported California SB 567, the Homelessness Prevention Act

“As a Congresswoman, I will always prioritize protecting housing as a human right.”

No Republican nominee
04

Immigration and border policy

medium salience

Simon explicitly opposes linking local law enforcement offenses to federal deportation, while Joyce has no documented immigration positions in the sources.

Lateefah Simon

Supports humane immigration system reform

Simon supports creating a fair and humane immigration system that expands legal pathways to work authorization and citizenship. She advocates disentangling local law enforcement from federal immigration enforcement and opposed Republican-led immigration enforcement bills.

  • Advocates expanding legal pathways to citizenship and work authorization
  • Supports separating the criminal justice system from federal immigration enforcement
  • Voted NAY on the Laken Riley Act (S. 5) and the Protect Our Communities from DUIs Act (H.R. 875)

“work to create a fair and humane immigration system that would disentangle the criminal system from the immigration system and expand legal pathways to work authorization and citizenship.”

No Republican nominee
05

Transportation and infrastructure

medium salience

Simon uses her position on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee to advocate for federal mass transit funding, whereas Joyce provides no transit policy details.

Lateefah Simon

Supports expanded federal mass transit funding

Drawing on her background as a BART Director and board president, Simon prioritizes reliable public transit access. She serves on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and introduced federal legislation based on Bay Area transit models.

  • Serves on the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
  • Led the BART Board through the pandemic to secure operational funding for transit-dependent workers
  • Introduced the RIDER Act to nationalize BART's transit safety ambassador model

“Through my experience on the BART Board of Directors, my daily commutes on public transportation, and being born legally blind, I know first hand how transportation touches every person’s life.”

No Republican nominee
06

Healthcare and reproductive freedom

medium salience

Simon emphasizes codifying abortion rights and protecting federal healthcare funding, while Joyce does not articulate a specific healthcare platform.

Lateefah Simon

Supports codifying reproductive rights and healthcare funding

Simon views high-quality healthcare as a fundamental human right and advocates codifying federal protections for reproductive care. She helped lead efforts to restore federal health funding cuts in the House.

  • Advocates codifying federal protections for abortion and reproductive healthcare
  • Promotes access to high-quality healthcare as a fundamental human right
  • Claimed victory alongside Bay Area Democrats in reversing a $1.9 billion federal cut in health funding

“I will champion comprehensive policing reform, expand voting rights, codify protections for reproductive care, and work to create a fair and humane immigration system”

No Republican nominee